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Tropolone emerged from the screening of a chelator fragment library (CFL)

Tropolone emerged from the screening of a chelator fragment library (CFL) as an inhibitor of the Zn2+-dependent virulence factor elastase (LasB). antiinflammatory antitumor and antiviral activity.[1-3] The metal-binding capacity of tropolone is well known using its exocyclic oxygen donor atoms to bind metal ions (i.e. O O donor ligand Physique 1) [4] and the employment of tropolone-based models in the design of metalloprotein inhibitors has been explored.[5 6 Tropolone has been identified as an inhibitor of several Zn2+-dependent metalloenzymes including carboxypeptidase A thermolysin matrix metalloproteases (MMP-2 and -3) and anthrax lethal factor (LF) with IC50 values ranging from 0.003-1.4 mM.[1 4 7 Tropolone has also been found to be a potent inhibitor of the dinuclear copper-dependent enzyme tyrosinase (IC50 value of ~400 nM);[8] however a recent crystal structure of tropolone bound to tyrosinase revealed that this natural product does not act by coordinating to the metal ion.[9] Determine 1 Metal-binding groups (MBGs) and derived inhibitors with IC50 values listed for LasB inhibition. In an effort to identify suitable metal-binding groups (MBGs) for targeting metalloprotein active sites a fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) approach has been applied via the development of Rabbit Polyclonal to AML1. chelator fragment libraries (CFLs). CFLs are specifically designed with fragments that can coordinate metal ions in the active site of metalloproteins. This approach has revealed novel scaffolds such as hydroxypyrones hydroxypyridiones hydroxyquinolines and quinolone sulfonamides to be effective MBGs against a variety of metalloproteins including MMPs LF and several others.[4 7 10 LasB[11 12 is one of several virulence factors produced by to promote contamination within a host.[13 14 Previous mutation-[15] and vaccine-based[16] studies have revealed that LasB plays a critical role in promoting virulence through targeted proteolysis of host tissue proteins and immune system components.[11] Moreover LasB has also Bleomycin sulfate been linked to the establishment of antibiotic-resistant biofilm[17] and swarm colonies.[18 19 Because evidence exists supporting the investigation of virulence factors as promising new antibiotic targets [20-22] the pursuit of non-peptidic small molecule inhibitors of LasB is of interest. Recently the screening of CFL-1.1 against elastase (LasB) was shown to produce several hits.[19] Among the initial hits was 3-hydroxy-1 2 form swarm colonies has been linked to the development Bleomycin sulfate of antibiotic resistance [27 28 indicating that small molecule inhibitors of LasB could be used as adjuvants with traditional antibiotics to enhance the susceptibility of antibiotic-resistant to these drugs.[29] To examine the anti-swarming activity of compound 7a strain PA14 was grown on swarm agar plates containing either DMSO (control) or 25 μM of 7a. As shown in Physique 5 this tropolone-based inhibitor was able to completely inhibit Bleomycin sulfate the Bleomycin sulfate swarming phenotype at this concentration exhibiting swarming inhibitory properties comparable to 2.[19] Importantly 7 was found to be non-cytotoxic to PA14 at a concentration of 25 μM (Determine S6?). Finally compound 10 which has an acetylated tropolone MBG was found to be much less effective at inhibiting swarming (Physique S7?). Thus these results demonstrate the potential of this natural product-based chelating moiety for the design of antimicrobial metalloprotease inhibitors. Physique 5 Swarming of strain PA14 in the absence (left DMSO control) or presence of 7a (right 25 μM). Conclusions In conclusion the first tropolone-based metalloprotein inhibitors have been developed by a chelator-focused FBDD approach. These compounds are the most potent non-peptidic small-molecule inhibitors of LasB reported to Bleomycin sulfate date and show excellent activity in a cell-based swarming assay. Importantly the tropolone MBG-derived inhibitors are more active and more selective than the previously identified HOPTO-based compounds. The work presented here is consistent with earlier studies on tropolone-based metalloprotein inhibitors. While the majority of the previous tropolone-based inhibitors were identified by screening of natural products this study demonstrates how use of chelator fragment libraries and sublibraries can rapidly identify leads for the development of such inhibitors. The present findings clearly suggest that identification.